Email: mtneuman (at) juno.com

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center has reported that the first seven months of 2006 was the hottest such period in the U.S. since it began keeping temperature records in 1895. The average January - July 2006 temperature was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit (12.9 Celsius), beating the previous record set in 1934.

Wisconsin's average temperature for the month of July was reported as "much above average".

NOAA National Weather Service stations show more than 2,300 daily temperature records around the United States were broken in July, while 50 stations reported their highest temperature recorded during any July. More than 90 records for the highest night-time temperatures for July were also exceeded.

The average January - July 2006 temperature was 55.3 degrees F (12.9 C), beating the previous record set in 1934. The previous January - July cumulative record temperature was 54.8 degrees F..

July's monthly average temperature in Wisconsin was reported to be "much above normal" by NOAA. NOAA scientists add that while no single episode of extreme heat can be blamed exclusively on human-induced global warming, "heat waves will become more likely and progressively more intense over the course of decades", according to the Commerce Department report.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/images/july2006-state-temps.jpg

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2677.htm

See also:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClimateArchive/

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/2006/jun/lo-hem-jun-pg.gif